**The Official Karl-Anthony Towns Thread: Part Two**

[Suka Bongcic]

He is what we knew he is. Soft mentally. All the skills in the world and what does he do? Sits at the 3 point line all game and rarely ever goes to the post. That’s just insane. Dude taking 8 threes to Edwards’ 2. Best big man shooter ever lol. Nba champion Dirk is somewhere laughing at this fool. KAT should be the 6th man. He’s the 2nd best shooting big in his own team. Naz >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> kat.

You guys just have to hope that you can trade him rather than paying him the entirety of that contract. Dudes gonna get paid 60M in his age 32 season. By 32 he’ll be cemented into the 3 point line.

kat IS the problem and he’s going to stunt the young superstar unless you get rid of him. You got Naz for one more season before he gets his 25-35M. Highest payroll in the nba next season. 132M over the cap.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Trying to think of past nba champions that spoke of how good they are in the way kat has done. Drawing a blank.

[younggunsmn]

Perhaps the most brutally awful playoff performance by an All-Star caliber player ever.
Missed pretty much every defensive rotation in the first 2 games too.
And this is like the 4th time he has crapped the bed in the playoffs.

Hopefully some team will take his contract and give us something useful, because if we can't move him we are very very very screwed.
Nets, Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, somebody please take him.

Maybe we have to take somebody with a slightly less bad contract like Garland and hope he turns it around.

[KATKlownFeet]

Perhaps the most brutally awful playoff performance by an All-Star caliber player ever.
Missed pretty much every defensive rotation in the first 2 games too.
And this is like the 4th time he has crapped the bed in the playoffs.

Hopefully some team will take his contract and give us something useful, because if we can't move him we are very very very screwed.
Nets, Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, somebody please take him.

Maybe we have to take somebody with a slightly less bad contract like Garland and hope he turns it around.

If only we had Danny Ainge as GM. He knew when to sell an asset to get top value. There was a time KAT was viewed as one of the top young assets in the NBA, similarly to how Ant is now valued. I don't want to trade KAT for pennies on the dollar but if we can find another team that values him quite highly and has an asset that can help us more than KAT, we'd be foolish not to consider moving him. I'm not a fan of just dumping KAT for an expiring or a bigger headache like Randle, but if we can get a top tier two way point guard like DeJounte Murray or a valuable 3 or 4 like Mikal Bridges or Kuzma or perhaps even Trey Murphy, then we got to seriously consider it.

[Loaf_of_bread]

His "being the greatest bigman shooter" **** is one thing, then the dude is all proud of himself as the last all-star, and goes off in it.

Then, has the audacity to claim bad luck (shots going in and out), and it's "FUNNY" that it's happening because he's shooting so many shots in practice.

This guy unfortunately hasn't been through tough **** in life, humbled himself/learned from it... anyone that wants to proclaim his trials from deaths in the family, go for it. He hasn't changed from it.

Guy is immature. Lacks humility.

[jpatrick]

His "being the greatest bigman shooter" **** is one thing, then the dude is all proud of himself as the last all-star, and goes off in it.

Then, has the audacity to claim bad luck (shots going in and out), and it's "FUNNY" that it's happening because he's shooting so many shots in practice.

This guy unfortunately hasn't been through tough **** in life, humbled himself/learned from it... anyone that wants to proclaim his trials from deaths in the family, go for it. He hasn't changed from it.

Guy is immature. Lacks humility.

This is too harsh. KAT is a bit of a goofball. Says things that are a bit cringy from time-to-time. But by all accounts is a really good guy off the court who works hard on his game. How he’s slimmed down to play power forward being an example. He also had no problems turning over the mantle of best player on the team to Ant, almost doing it gladly, indicating some humility.

His biggest problem is that he’s around the 30-35ish best player in the world, which means he’s great but has holes in his game that are exploited when you get this far in the playoffs. It doesn’t help when he makes 50s/60s millions per year, inhibiting team building.

[Loaf_of_bread]

His biggest problem is that he disappears in the playoffs.

[shrink]

His biggest problem is that he disappears in the playoffs.

A lot of people say that, but he played terrific team basketball in the first two playoff series.

[Colbinii]

His biggest problem is that he disappears in the playoffs.

A lot of people say that, but he played terrific team basketball in the first two playoff series.

Yup.

So he disappears in the playoffs, but sometimes re-appears for a series [or two].

At a certain point you need to decide if a player who is so hot and cold at a given time is worthwhile. Is it possible for Towns to string together 3 or 4 consistent playoff series? He has not proven that yet in his career. This is the first time he has played 2 series in a row [and he has played 3 this year] but the same issues of the past are raising their head again.

If Towns played up to his level in Round 1 and Round 2, the Wolves are up 3-0 or 2-1.

So yeah, uber-talented player, fun guy, still growing/improving. He may get to a point in the future where he is a Pau Gasol type 2nd option with maturity, poise, control, efficiency.

My biggest hiccup with moving Towns is what is the return? Can we at least salvage 90% on the Dollar?

[Guest84]

One thing I think ppl forget about Karl is that he was drafted as a center and had a ton of advantages there. Once you move him out of that position you lose his advantages.

Technically, he should still have an advantage at the 4, it's just a different one. However, his play style and mindset doesn't always allow him to act on this advantage successfully.

At the 5, he's typically quicker than others so his drive was more effective. At the 4, he's bigger than most and should be able to dominate in the post. But he's unable to take advantage of this due to either his poor technique, lack of lower strength, or whatever. He gets uprooted by the smaller guys so coach can invest in it heavily as a sure thing.

One thing I remember Karl said was that Coach Cal MADE him play in the post and on defense otherwise he couldn't shoot 3s or something. I don't fully recall so I could be wrong.

I'm torn on Karl. Seems like a great guy to have in the locker room but in terms of just ball, it may be time to move on unless you can move him to the 3rd star role.

Last thing, I know Ant is considered the 1 now but that doesn't mean Karl needs to take a full back seat. The team NEEDS him to be a co-star NOT just a role player. Especially with that contract otherwise it's not worth keeping him.

[Klomp]

One thing I think ppl forget about Karl is that he was drafted as a center and had a ton of advantages there. Once you move him out of that position you lose his advantages.

Technically, he should still have an advantage at the 4, it's just a different one. However, his play style and mindset doesn't always allow him to act on this advantage successfully.

At the 5, he's typically quicker than others so his drive was more effective. At the 4, he's bigger than most and should be able to dominate in the post. But he's unable to take advantage of this due to either his poor technique, lack of lower strength, or whatever. He gets uprooted by the smaller guys so coach can invest in it heavily as a sure thing.

One thing I remember Karl said was that Coach Cal MADE him play in the post and on defense otherwise he couldn't shoot 3s or something. I don't fully recall so I could be wrong.

I'm torn on Karl. Seems like a great guy to have in the locker room but in terms of just ball, it may be time to move on unless you can move him to the 3rd star role.

Last thing, I know Ant is considered the 1 now but that doesn't mean Karl needs to take a full back seat. The team NEEDS him to be a co-star NOT just a role player. Especially with that contract otherwise it's not worth keeping him.

While "KAT was drafted as a center" is technically true, why is that the case? I think people got hyper-focused on his one year in the post at Kentucky, where you don't really see the 270-pound bruising centers. But the post has never really been a prominent part of his game, because he's easily out-muscled. Also remember, he was playing next to Willie Cauley-Stein, so he was usually guarded by guys even smaller.

He also came into the league at a time when the center position was at a downturn. Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic hadn't played an NBA game yet, Rudy Gobert was just coming into his own. We were a year removed from the all-NBA centers being Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard in Houston and Al Jefferson in Charlotte.

But something else I think is worth discussing, if center is his best position, I think it's hard for him to ever be more than a Patrick Ewing....which is great, but he will often be overshadowed by bigger, stronger centers. That's not his game. Not on offense or on defense. So on defense, you need to play him next to someone who can handle some of those covers, which I think is why they tried putting him next to Gobert and which is why his other best defensie year was as a rookie next to Kevin Garnett. Ewing had a great career, but he always seemed to be in the shadows of guys like Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.

I still think "playing big" can be a viable strategy, but I understand that Karl-Anthony Towns might not be that big to build around. For a modern comparison, he's always felt more like Al Horford. Atlanta was able to build a roster that had decent team success, but they could never fully get over the hump because of his limitations. When they got to the ECF, Horford's production was largely matched by Timofey Mozgov of all people.

[Guest84]

One thing I think ppl forget about Karl is that he was drafted as a center and had a ton of advantages there. Once you move him out of that position you lose his advantages.

Technically, he should still have an advantage at the 4, it's just a different one. However, his play style and mindset doesn't always allow him to act on this advantage successfully.

At the 5, he's typically quicker than others so his drive was more effective. At the 4, he's bigger than most and should be able to dominate in the post. But he's unable to take advantage of this due to either his poor technique, lack of lower strength, or whatever. He gets uprooted by the smaller guys so coach can invest in it heavily as a sure thing.

One thing I remember Karl said was that Coach Cal MADE him play in the post and on defense otherwise he couldn't shoot 3s or something. I don't fully recall so I could be wrong.

I'm torn on Karl. Seems like a great guy to have in the locker room but in terms of just ball, it may be time to move on unless you can move him to the 3rd star role.

Last thing, I know Ant is considered the 1 now but that doesn't mean Karl needs to take a full back seat. The team NEEDS him to be a co-star NOT just a role player. Especially with that contract otherwise it's not worth keeping him.

While "KAT was drafted as a center" is technically true, why is that the case? I think people got hyper-focused on his one year in the post at Kentucky, where you don't really see the 270-pound bruising centers. But the post has never really been a prominent part of his game, because he's easily out-muscled. Also remember, he was playing next to Willie Cauley-Stein, so he was usually guarded by guys even smaller.

He also came into the league at a time when the center position was at a downturn. Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic hadn't played an NBA game yet, Rudy Gobert was just coming into his own. We were a year removed from the all-NBA centers being Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard in Houston and Al Jefferson in Charlotte.

But something else I think is worth discussing, if center is his best position, I think it's hard for him to ever be more than a Patrick Ewing....which is great, but he will often be overshadowed by bigger, stronger centers. That's not his game. Not on offense or on defense. So on defense, you need to play him next to someone who can handle some of those covers, which I think is why they tried putting him next to Gobert and which is why his other best defensie year was as a rookie next to Kevin Garnett. Ewing had a great career, but he always seemed to be in the shadows of guys like Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.

I still think "playing big" can be a viable strategy, but I understand that Karl-Anthony Towns might not be that big to build around. For a modern comparison, he's always felt more like Al Horford. Atlanta was able to build a roster that had decent team success, but they could never fully get over the hump because of his limitations. When they got to the ECF, Horford's production was largely matched by Timofey Mozgov of all people.

A lot of your points I actually agree with as it sounds like we're saying similar things just in slightly different ways. You provided a bit more detail when it comes to the center position though. The bolded part is something I've mentioned quite a bit. It's prob one of his biggest deficiencies as he just can't take advantage and punish the smaller players.

I want Karl to succeed as a wolf but I'm inching closer to moving forward in a different direction. While Rudy helped, I still don't think it's the best fit. However, we'll see how it plays out.

[LibertyPrime]

Everybody ragging on KAT remembers that he just had a meniscus tear a few weeks ago, right?

Sheesh.

[Colbinii]

Everybody ragging on KAT remembers that he just had a meniscus tear a few weeks ago, right?

Sheesh.

Yeah but the people who are bringing up Towns are the same people who have brought up Towns before, like you know, after the 2022 post-season

[Loaf_of_bread]

His biggest problem is that he disappears in the playoffs.

A lot of people say that, but he played terrific team basketball in the first two playoff series.

Yup.

So he disappears in the playoffs, but sometimes re-appears for a series [or two].

At a certain point you need to decide if a player who is so hot and cold at a given time is worthwhile. Is it possible for Towns to string together 3 or 4 consistent playoff series? He has not proven that yet in his career. This is the first time he has played 2 series in a row [and he has played 3 this year] but the same issues of the past are raising their head again.

If Towns played up to his level in Round 1 and Round 2, the Wolves are up 3-0 or 2-1.

So yeah, uber-talented player, fun guy, still growing/improving. He may get to a point in the future where he is a Pau Gasol type 2nd option with maturity, poise, control, efficiency.

My biggest hiccup with moving Towns is what is the return? Can we at least salvage 90% on the Dollar?

40 cents on the dollar, but what is the point of playing the game just to be relevant in the regular season?

Put together a team of pitbulls that can win the whole damn thing. No need for these soft, zesty clowns.

[frankenwolf]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

[m2002brian]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Zion and Jordan Hawkins

[TimberKat]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Yes, Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hardworking, and we're going to improve. All the negativity that's in this town sucks. We are going to stick with Towns and Gobert. A KG trade, maybe.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I love KAT, he seems to be a nice guy. He accept to let ANT take the leadership and to change his way of play. He improve his defense a lot. And he give 100% for the team. As do Rudy. The problem with our 2 big is that the are overpaid and it make things very difficult to improve the team. On my opinion ( and i am a Rudy fan), i think you are actually near our max level with this roster.
2 options for the FO:
- Make another run with this roster. ANT , MACD will keep improving but you also have to pray Mike stay healthy and not slow down, same for Rudy. IF Ant and Jaden are a little bit more consistent, i convinced we can win a title.
- Trade KAT and go for a quick retools around ANT.

[Klomp]

Not that it means anything positive or negative, but I continue to wonder if the most accurate career arc comparison for KAT might be his Dominican brethren Al Horford.